with

Wyevale Garden Centres

It’s summer, well almost, and my latest collaboration is one that’s very close to my heart – gardening! As regular Lavender and Lovage readers will know, as well as travel, cooking, baking and recipe creation, I also feature my garden and what’s growing and being harvested throughout the seasons. We are lucky to have a large garden, but I realise that not everyone has over a third of an acre at their disposal, so in conjunction with Wyevale Garden Centres, I am starting a new series of “Grow your Own” garden posts, which will feature me starting a small container garden, suitable for patios, terraces, courtyard gardens, balconies, teeny tiny gardens and even the kitchen windowsill! As part of my collaboration with Wyevale Garden Centres, they sent me a “starter kit” for my “Grow your Own” kitchen garden project…….my kit comprised:

Grow your Own Kitchen Garden Kit for Container and Small Gardens Kit:

1 x RHS Planter

1 x RHS Plant Pot

3 x Wooden Crates

2 x Plastic Cloches

Window Box

5 x Plant Pots

2 x Seedling Planters

Green Jute Twine

Dubber

Trowel

Bamboo Canes

Electric Propagator

Compost

Miracle-Gro Plant Food

Gro-Sure Tomato Food

Seedling Plants: 3 x Broad Bean Plants; 4 x Tomato Plants; Sweet Pepper and Elephant Garlic

Seeds: Rocket; Greek Oregano; Thyme; Sweet Peppers; Mixed Loose-Leaf Lettuce; Curly Parsley and Spinach

The first thing I did on receiving my kit was to plan where I would put my plants; I have a terrace that backs on to the kitchen, where I have lots of potted herbs, and as it has equal measures of shade and full sun, I decided to group my new garden there. Having decided where I was going to plant and raise my plants and seeds, it was time to pot the small plants that I was sent……making a space available just off the terrace, I brought a table over to make my job easier to pot the tomatoes, sweet peppers, broad beans and elephant garlic at waist height.

I half filled the containers with compost, then eased the seedling plants out of their plastic containers, cutting them in some cases as to avoid damaging the roots – the plants were then sat in the planters and tubs, which were filled half way with compost, before I added more compost and pushed them securely in. I then “watered them in” and gave them all their first feed of plant food.

The broad beans and tomatoes were “staked” with the bamboo canes, and loosely tied with jute string before being placed in their growing positions. The elephant garlic was re-potted and as it was already quite large and strong, it didn’t need staking. I love the combination of flowers, herbs and vegetables together, in a real “cottage garden” style, so I positioned my plants in and amongst existing flowers and herbs, which looks very attractive and colourful.

The next job for me in the Grow your Own project, is to sow my seeds, and I will be covering that via social media, on Instagram, Twitter and FaceBook, until they are big enough to plant out, when I will be sharing my planting tips here. Once my plants and herbs are fully-grown and mature, I will be showing you how to harvest them, and then creating some new recipes using my home-grown herbs and salad vegetables, so do keep popping back to see how this exciting project is going.

If you feel inspired to grow your own garden this year, then the time is JUST right to sow some seeds (some can be sown directly outside now, space permitting) as well as plant seedlings and start a kitchen window herb garden too. Wyevale Garden Centres has a fabulous array of plants, seeds and vegetables to choose from, and they offer home delivery too, which is such a convenient service. You can also see their latest news and offers here: FaceBook; Twitter and Instagram.

Before I go, why not pop over to their website for seasonal gardening tips too……and don’t forget to follow me as I grow my own garden on the patio this summer! Look out for the hash-tag #WGCGrowYourOwn. Their last seasonal tip for May is:

“Many vegetable crops can be sown as seed this month – check the instructions on the packet and plant away. Broad beans, carrots, lettuces, spinach, salad leaves, leeks and chard are just a few ideas to get your healthy, cheap and home-grown food under way. Sow salads in short runs every fortnight to ensure a continuous crop. Don’t sow entire packets of seed in one go… the resulting glut is ridiculous”

Disclaimer: Sponsored post in collaboration with Wyevale Garden Centres; all views and opinions are my own and I was not asked to write a favourable review.